One side of the FCS playoff bracket has its top teams in the semifinal round; the other side has surprises. Here’s a ranking of the four potential matchups of the national championship game.
A matchup between archrivals Montana and Montana State is basically as big as it gets in FCS football, but next Saturday, the intensity will rise up even more with their first-ever meeting in the FCS playoffs.
But as a national semifinal, it won’t be the 2025 season’s final game, and the hope in the FCS is generally for the national championship game to wind up being an even bigger thriller.
Four potential matchups can come out of the semifinals for the FCS championship game on Jan. 5 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Here’s a 1-to-4 ranking of the matchups, starting with the best storyline.
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2 weeks ago Craig Haley1. Montana vs. Villanova
This would be a rematch of the most recent FCS championship game in the state of Tennessee, when Villanova edged Montana 23-21 in Chattanooga. That was the Wildcats’ only appearance in the title game, while UM has made eight to tie with Georgia Southern for the second most in history behind North Dakota State.
Both head coaches were part of the 2009 game: Mark Ferrante as a Villanova assistant and Bobby Hauck in the final game of the first of his two stints guiding Montana.
The matchup would be offense vs. defense. Montana, whose 41 FCS playoff wins are the third most in history, has its top-scoring squad since 1999. Villanova, however, just kept Tarleton State’s No. 1 FCS scoring offense to a season-low 21 points and has allowed only five touchdowns in three playoff wins.
2. Montana State vs. Illinois State
Illinois State handed No. 1-seeded, defending national champion North Dakota State the earliest exit in its FCS playoff history, so a chance to also take down the No. 2 seed offers one of the true underdog possibilities in playoff history.
Make no mistake, the Redbirds are an outstanding team, but they did not earn any of the 16 seeds in the 24-team field.
During the 15-year championship game in Frisco, Texas, these two programs lost to NDSU in two of the closest finals – ISU 29-27 in its lone title game appearance in 2014 and MSU 35-32 last year (MSU also lost decisively to the Bison in 2021, but it won a national championship in 1984).
The two programs have never met before. The Redbirds are the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s last hope for continuing a run of 14 straight seasons with a national finalist.
3. Montana State vs. Villanova
Pound the rock on offense and play with physicality on defense – these two successful programs often win with similar styles.
They are the only FCS teams to have three players with 650+ rushing yards – MSU with Julius Davis, Adam Jones and quarterback Justin Lamson; Villanova with Ja’briel Mace, Isaiah Ragland and the injured David Avit.
MSU, the Big Sky champion which ranks third in wins (59) among FCS programs this decade, is allowing just 17.6 points per game and has 26 takeaways behind safety Caden Dowler’s lead.
Villanova, in its final season in CAA Football, has pushed its win total to 50 this decade – the sixth most – and has 32 sacks while allowing just 20.3 points per game.
4. Montana vs. Illinois State
The Big Sky and the MVFC have a long history of matchups, but these two schools have never played each other – just as Illinois State hasn’t faced Montana State, either.
Go back to the preseason and Illinois State was ranked No. 6, one spot ahead of Montana. The talent level on the squads is quite high, including UM running back Eli Gillman earning Big Sky offensive player of the year and Illinois State linebacker Tye Niekamp claiming MVFC defensive player of the year.
Hauck has the most FCS wins (151) among active coaches in the subdivision and Illinois State’s Brock Spack is third (122).
Top photo of 2009 FCS championship game via Getty Images. For more FCS football coverage, follow on social media at X, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.
Ranking the Potential Matchups for the 2025 FCS Championship Game Opta Analyst.
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